After Midnight: JGMS, November 3, 1973, Keystone, Berkeley

I just call this After Midnight. Tremendous.

Jerry Garcia and Merl Saunders
Keystone
2119 University Avenue
Berkeley, CA 94704
November 3, 1973 (Saturday)
123 minute soundboard

-sSet I (7 tracks, 83:05)--
s1t01. ... After Midnight [7:26] (1) [2:48]
s1t02. Expressway (To Your Heart) [10:59] ->
s1t03. collective improvisation [15:50] ->
s1t04. transition to Merl's Tune [2:13] ->
s1t05. Merl's Tune [7:58] [2:34]
s1t06. Someday Baby [16:19] [1:55]
s1t07. I Second That Emotion [14:50] (2) [0:11] %

--set II (2 tracks, 39:51, incomplete)--
s2t01. .. Mystery Train [10:01] [0:15]
s2t02. My Funny Valentine [29:05] (3)

! Band: Jerry Garcia and Merl Saunders
! Lineup: Jerry Garcia - el-g, vocals;
! Lineup: Merl Saunders - keyboards;
! Lineup: John Kahn - el-bass;
! Lineup: Bill Vitt - drums;
! Lineup: Martin Fierro - saxophone, flute.

JGMF:

! Recording: symbols: % = recording discontinuity; / = clipped song; // = cut song; ... = fade in/out; # = truncated timing; [ ] = recorded event time. The recorded event time immediately after the song or item name is an attempt at getting the "real" time of the event. So, a timing of [x:xx] right after a song title is an attempt to say how long the song really was, as represented on this recording.

! Jerrybase: https://jerrybase.com/events/19731103-01

! db: none as of 12/31/2012. shnid-123279 (this fileset).

! map: http://goo.gl/maps/z22BN

! metadata: The show seems originally to have been booked, and was billed, as Old And In The Way . It was listed that way in "Scenedrome," Berkeley Barb, November 2-8, 1973, p. 17 and Hayward Daily Review, October 26, 1973, p. 34, as well as on a Keystone handbill. However, the Staska-Mangrum column from 11/2 listed it as JGMS (Staska, Kathie, and George Mangrum. 1973. Rock talk from KG: Country song goes to town. Hayward Daily Review, November 2, 1973, p. 44), and the tape is, plainly, JGMS. Of course, the next night would feature the last complete OAITW show, and it only occurred as late as November 4th because of a rainout at Sonoma State on the initial date of October 7th.

! R: the recording information I report is pieced together from available information, and may not be definitive.

! R: analog source tapes 1) Betty Cantor Jackson’s 10" master soundboard reel [MSR] @ 7.5ips 1/2 trk (Nagra IV-S, uncertain tape stock) (3rd Betty Batch, tape #53, 11/3/73 reel #1, set I, 83 minutes); 2) Betty Cantor Jackson’s 10" MSR @ 7.5ips 1/2 trk (Nagra IV-S, uncertain tape stock) (3rd Betty Batch, tape #36, 11/3/73 reel #2, end of show; first part of reel blank).

! R: Analog to digital transfer by RE, winter 1996: Otari 50/50 reel to reel > Apogee 500 A/D converter > Panasonic SV3700 DAT @ 16 bits, 48 kHz. The story of these tapes was written up in the late 2012 New Yorker article (Paumgarten 2012).

! R: subsequent: uncertain DAT > WAV > CD > EAC (extraction) > CDWave (tracking) > TLH (flac8 encoding) > foobar2000 (tagging) by JGMF.

! R: This recording is nothing short of spectacular. It enters in the pocket and stays there. Betty Cantor-Jackson, thank you! Listeners: we are truly blessed to care about the music that Betty cared enough to record for us. It’s like Rudy van Gelder or something. We are truly lucky music fans. And thanks to whoever had the foresight to salvage these tapes, and to have RE, a Grammy-winning recording engineer, preserve them. Posterity thanks you.

! historical: So good to hear this show. As of this writing, the only Garcia/Saunders shows in circulation after the thoroughly-documented (and now completely officially released as Keystone Companions: The Complete 1973 Fantasy Recordings, Fantasy, 2012 [Allan | deaddisc]) July 10-11, 1973 Keystone shows are the fragment of the 9/5/73 Hell's Angels show, the complete Capitol Theatre (Passaic, NJ) show of September 6, 1973, and another Hell's Angels thing at Winterland on October 2, 1973. After that, it's all the way out to January 17-18-19, 1974. Hearing this November show is potentially really important in stitching together a musical analysis of the band's evolution.

! s1t01 (1) @ 7:58 JG: "Mr. P.A. man, turn up the monitors and the P.A. please, would ya? That is, could ya?"

! P: s1t02 The jam portion of Expressway is very, very nice.

! setlist: s1t02-s1t05: I had a real bear of a time deciding how to track the 40-minute continuous piece of music between After Midnight and Someday Baby. It's pretty extraordinary! I used to prefer more markers to fewer, then I eased off of that for some years, and now I am feeling that they have great value. One way or another, we need good metadata on what was actually performed, and the timings of the various pieces. Future musicologists will thank us, or not. And with a jam like this, it's an exercise in false precision and linearity no matter how you slice it. This is how I slice it. I feel reasonably comfortable with s1t02 as Expressway. They leave the song structure, key, tempo, etc. at that point, which is when I drop in the "jam" track (something else that I have gotten away from). The "collective improvisation" covers lots of terrain. It even contains hints of the tune to follow, the Merl Saunders original "Merl's Tune". So, obviously, I split the baby with the tracking of Merl's Tune. What I do is just logically indefensible, not least since there are hints of Merl's tune all through the "jam". Merl's Tune has a pretty distinctive three-note start. Once Merl plays that and it "takes" (i.e., he doesn't wander away from it until Merl's Tune has definitely been played), I start the transition track. Then I track the song proper, well, when I think the song proper starts. Finally, though, they bail out of Merl's Tune before the end of the track I have made for it. So, if I were being consistent, I'd probably track this out, too. I am not being consistent.

! Personnel: the personnel identified is per the tape box as noted by RE.

! setlist: the start of the second reel was blank, and we clearly have an end of show announcement (see note (3), below). So we appear to be missing the start of set II.

! R: s1t01 After Midnight very low amplitude, lots of mix and level fluctuations, first minute and a half or so.

! P: s1t03 neat little jam JG descending at 3:44, GDish ... @ 4:00 Martin jumps in with a descending, decaying run of five notes, and then a more melodic, higher, quicker five-note melody that he copped from somewhere. Garcia starts vamping a little bit, and things really swing for a nice little 90 second thing, check it out around 4:45. Martin doing some very distinctive lines @ 5:10, really smooth (quoted again @ 5:30 ... Garcia playing very structured melody. If this were the GD, this jam would have gone somewhere, I hate to say it. Then Jerry is articulating some long sentences toward the late 7- and early 8-minute range. Again, late in the 8-min mark, with some very distinctive clusters of notes, definitely saying something. Starts bending @ 9:19 .. mmmm ...

! P: s1t03 John Kahn locks in on the three-note opening bass line of "Merl's Tune" for awhile @ 9:30

! P: s1t03 @ 10:15 Martin is playing his After Midnight thing. John joins him and so does Jerry. Merl is doing the MT line at 10:44 but since he abandons it for awhile again I don't start tracking it here. For a few minutes, if you started playing this at any point here and forced me to say what song it is, I think I'd say After Midnight. Jerry is strumming his After Midnight strum. John could be repetitively doing his After Midnight bass line toward the end of this segment, too. I guess these are their Merl's Tune lines? Maybe it's just that Merl's Tune has a melodic structure that sounds (to me) a little like After Midnight.

! P s1t03 Martin some copped CTI-type line @ 10:54, 11 ish. @ 14:00-ish one could almost imagine "Eleanor Rigby" emerging, or maybe that's just an echo from the future.

! P: s1t03 this jam is @@ extraordinary. This may be one of the finest pieces of Garcia-Saunders jamming on tape.

! s1t05 “Merl's Tune” is a neat composition. It has the voodoo bite of lots of Merl Saunders's tunes, but also has a little swing break that puts me in mind of a carnival whirlicue, a spinning thing.

!P:  s1t05 MT Merl switches @ 1:59 to an electric piano or clavichord kind of sound, back to organ @ 2:14. Martin comes in on flute @ 2:13.  @ 2:42 Garcia enters a descending Grateful Dead kind of space ... descending 8-note lines ... absolutely gorgeous. Some beautiful, fragile, melodic stuff. This is a @@ beautiful jam. Then Martin comes in cheek-squealing and spitting and farting, and the moment passes. Martin hits a familiar lick @ 3:38. By about 4:45 they return do a dark space pretty well unmoored from the song. @ 5:15 JG does some mournful whale-wailing that's too brief.

! s1t07 (2) JG: "We're gonna take a break for a little while. We'll be back in a few minutes. Thank you."

! setlist: s2t01 has traditionally been listed as "That's Alright Mama", but it's actually Mystery Train.

! R: s2t01 Mystery Train enters in progress.

! s2t02 (3) JG: "Well, it's closin' time in Berkeley, everybody. Thanks a lot for comin' by and all that."

! s2t02 after the show-closing announcement, Garcia strums After Midnight. Funny. As I heard in the long set I jam, "After Midnight" permeates this show, thematically. And since the announcement probably came sometime near or after 2 a.m., that chord might just be a musical accompaniment to the announcement. "After Midnight", indeed. If I were bootlegging this, that's what I'd call it. How original.

! Thanks to all involved in making and preserving this music.

! URL: http://jgmf.blogspot.com/

'Secret' at Paul's Mall: see p. 27

 LN jg1974-11-13.jgms.late.aud-seaweed.121034.flac1644

LIA just posted some really nice sources ("November 12, 1974: Garcia Plays Boston" and "November 1974: Garcia & Dead Projects") relating to the November 1974 east coast tour by the Jerry Garcia-Merl Saunders (JGMS) aggregation of Garcia, Saunders, John Kahn, Martin Fierro, and Paul Humphrey. In discussing 11/6/74 I noted that this was "Garcia’s first professional tour as a named headliner outside the Grateful Dead". From the perspective of what I do here, this is a critical step in the musical and professional (i.e., financial) balance that Garcia would eventually establish in his life, organized around the twin pillars of GD and GOTS (Garcia On The Side, a horrible acronym for a fine phrase).

Anyway, as the authors emphasize at the links above, and as I discussed a little bit around the April 1975 Legion of Mary east coast tour, these shows mostly sold out through word of mouth. Many of them were totally unadvertised. Garcia's Paul's Mall engagement "was to have been a well-kept secret ... There was no advertising, no promotion, no names on the marquee" (Howard 1974). Howard notes that word "leaked out" about a week before the shows, and LIA speculates that this was probably intentional. Not sure whose intentions were involved, but, indeed, the "leak" was hardly spread, sotto voce, among a small band of co-conspirators. No, the shows were advertised --albeit minimally!-- in the counterculture weekly Boston Phoenix:

The show under examination here, the late show from Wednesday, November 13th, is good. I have a weakness for the Thursday (11/14) late show, but there's nothing wrong with this one. The real setlist rarity is "Just Kissed My Baby", the Meters song done instrumentally by JGMS on four documented occasions, all of them during the month of November 1974 [Allan | deaddisc | TJS].  I always love "Favela" [Allan | deaddisc | TJS], credited by deaddisc to Vincius DeMoraes / Antonio Carlos Jobim / Ray Gilbert, which the band played a lot between August and December 1974. "Wondering Why" [Allan | deaddisc | TJS] is another fave, perhaps the best fit for Merl's voice of all the lead vocals he did with Jerry. It perhaps best evokes the vibe of this night and this era, described for this night by attendee George Krick:

We sat right next to the band, Fierro's head was as big as a basketball, veins exploding as he spit on us and blew his sax. His flute was adorned with multiple feathers. Jerry was sweating profusely and Merle was mumbling and groaning. Very intense.

Anyway, and as always, it's great to see new-to-circulation old material still emerging into daylight, and a pleasure to listen to this well-recorded tape from November 1974.

REFERENCE:

Howard, William. 1974. Garcia Plays Mall – Fans Crack ‘Secret’. Boston Globe, November 14, 1974, p. 41. Reposted to http://deadsources.blogspot.com/2012/12/november-12-1974-garcia-plays-boston.html.

LISTENING NOTES:

Jerry Garcia and Merl Saunders
Paul's Mall
733 Boylston Street
Boston, MA 02116
November 13, 1974 (Wednesday) - Late Show
86+ min aud via seaweed, shnid 121034

--late show (8 tracks, 86:31)--
t01. Harder They Come [15:06] [0:10]
t02. [0:34] Favela// [14:49#]
t03. Just Kissed My Baby [9:19] %
t04. Someday Baby [10:47] %
t05. Wondering Why [17:34] ->
t06. People Make The World Go Round [3:25] [0:13] %
t07. /Neighbor, Neighbor [8:25] %
t08. /The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down// [6:09#]

! ACT1: Jerry Garcia and Merl Saunders
! Lineup: Jerry Garcia - el-g, vocals;
! Lineup: Merl Saunders - keyboards, vocals;
! Lineup: Martin Fierro - saxophone, flute;
! Lineup: John Kahn - el-bass;
! Lineup: Paul Humphrey - drums.

JGMF:

! Recording: symbols: % = recording discontinuity; / = clipped song; // = cut song; ... = fade in/out; # = truncated timing; [x:Xx] = recorded event time. The recorded event time immediately after the song or item name is an attempt at getting the "real" time of the event. So, a timing of [x:xx] right after a song title is an attempt to say how long the song really was, as represented on this recording.

! Jerrybase: https://jerrybase.com/events/19741113-02

! db: shnid-121034 (this source)

! map: http://goo.gl/maps/TsQNS

! venue: http://jerrygarciasbrokendownpalaces.blogspot.com/2012/08/pauls-mall-733-boylston-street-boston-ma.html

! R: Source: Unknown AUD cassette, kindly supplied by Seaweed1010.

! R: Transfer: XLIIS-100 > Nakamichi DR-2 > Edirol FA-66 > Wavelab 2448 > R8Brain > CD-Wave > TLH > FLAC 1644 tagged, Andrew F. July 2012.

! R: Seeder note: As noted on the Jerry Site, this is probably the entire late show of Nov 13th. The tape was labeled 4th-gen, but sounds very listenable nonetheless. Favela and Dixie both cut out on the final notes, not much missing in either case. Thanks again to Seaweed for this tape!

! metadata: seeder notes: About the Paul's Mall dates ... Currently we have as follows: Nov 12th Early & Late Shows: nothing; Nov 13th Early Show: Jerrysite and ID-10128 match; Nov 13th Late Show: This tape; Nov 14th Early Show: Jerrysite and ID-16461 match; Nov 14th Late Show: Same songs listed, but out of order on ID-6383.

! R: this is quite a nice audience tape.

! personnel: We know this is Paul Humphrey drumming, and I can confirm that it's the same "fast and busy" drumming that I heard on 11/2/74. I don't mean that as a bad thing. Lots of tight snare drumming, especially.

! P: t02 Favela could be played at different tempos. This is toward the slower end of the tempo range, it seems to me.

! P: t02 Favela is flawed --they lose the thread a little a time or two, especially Mr. Humphrey-- but it's also got some really good moments. At 13 minutes or so in, Martin returns them to the theme and Garcia runs around a few times as if to say that he wanted to go another time around the bases. Oh well. Then they don't quite know how to end things and they go another time around the theme, which is less fertile terrain. Feels like a missed opportunity there.

! P: t03 JG some nice pulling in the 5-minute mark.

! P: t07 NN they lose track of each other in the 7-minute mark.

! R: t08 TNTDODD cuts out, maybe a minute or so, whatever big buildup finish they would do, is missing.

! historical: Garcia's "appearance at the Back Bay bistro was to have been a well-kept secret. ... There was no advertising, no promotion, no names on the marquee. ... The three-night engagement, which ends [11/14/74], was sold out instantly when word leaked out" (Howard 1974). Note that word "leaked out" through an ad in the Boston Phoenix (11/5/74, sec. 2, p. 27).

! expost: George Krick: "These shows are etched in my mind forever. Paul's Mall is a small night club in Boston...dark, low ceiling...probably less than 100 people there. We sat right next to the band, Fierro's head was as big as a basketball, veins exploding as he spit on us and blew his sax. His flute was adorned with multiple feathers. Jerry was sweating profusely and Merle was mumbling and groaning. Very intense."

Second Gig for the new Sextet: Rissmiller's 10/27/82

LN jg1982-10-27.jgb.s1s2p.aud-CC.xxxxxx.flac2448

Jerry Garcia Band
Rissmiller's Country Club
18415 Sherman Way
Reseda, CA 91335
October 27, 1982 (Wednesday)
83 min s1s2p Closet Call aud

--set I (7 tracks, 57:16)--
s1t01. crowd and tuning [0:28]
s1t02. How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) [8:43] %
s1t03. ... They Love Each Other [8:11] [0:08] % [0:32]
s1t04. Valerie [7:34] [0:11] % [0:19]
s1t05. I Second That Emotion [9:57] % [0:09]
s1t06. The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down [7:53] [0:03] %
s1t07. Dear Prudence [12:57] (1) [0:05] %

--set II (4 tracks, 25:41, presumed incomplete)--
s2t01. crowd and tuning [0:21]
s2t02. Sugaree [11:16] [0:16] %
s2t03. Run For The Roses [5:25] [0:04] % [0:07]
s2t04. Let It Rock [8:12] %

! ACT1: Jerry Garcia Band #15b
! lineup: Jerry Garcia - el-g, vocals;
! lineup: John Kahn - el-bass;
! lineup: Melvin Seals - organ;
! lineup: Greg Errico - drums;

! lineup: Elisecia Wright - vocals;

! lineup: Shirley Faulkner - vocals.

JGMF:

! Recording: symbols: % = recording discontinuity; / = clipped song; // = cut song; ... = fade in/out; # = truncated timing; [ ] = recorded event time. The recorded event time immediately after the song or item name is an attempt at getting the "real" time of the event. So, a timing of [x:xx] right after a song title is an attempt to say how long the song really was, as represented on this recording.

! Jerrybase: https://jerrybase.com/events/19821027-03

! db: shnid-137997 (better transfer of source tape noted here)

! map: http://goo.gl/maps/wR2rw

! venue: http://jerrygarciasbrokendownpalaces.blogspot.com/2012/06/rissmillers-country-club-reseda-theatre.html

! metadata: This date has been mysterious, for such a contemporary one in such a large media market. It was not mentioned in the McNally-Arnold JG List. As of 12/9/2012, the only hard evidence for this was  the picture (via TJS-RIP) of the Rismiller's marquee, reading "The Jerry Garcia Band Oct 27 28" (seen here). It is surprising that no ticket stubs or participant recollections have emerged. The setlist is similar to what we have from clean provenance for the show on the 28th, but it is not identical. I have compared the two performances and I conclude that this is, indeed, a distinct set of music. I have a theory about what happened: I suspect that this first show was unadvertised (beyond the marquee). Maybe Jerry's people agreed to just a percentage of the door, or something, so they could have a Wednesday-night warmup for the new girls. This is consistent with a broader pattern in the Garcia Band, of breaking in new players midweek and off-the-beaten path. They want to have them broken in before they put 'em before the Keystone regulars.

update20170325: I have now seen the tour documents (at the Grateful Dead Archive at McHenry Library, UC Santa Cruz), and the show can be confirmed.

! R: 4th gen audience cassette (Maxell XLII90, no Dolby) > Nakamichi BX-300 playback (no Dolby) > Pyle Pro cables > WaveTerminal 2496 > Samplitude 10.1 Download Version (record @ 24 bits/48kHz) > CDWave 1.9.8 (tracking) > Adobe Audition 3.0 (cross-fades, etc.) > Traders Little Helper 2.4.1 (FLAC encoding, level 8) (flac2448).

! R: This is fundamentally a nice tape, notwithstanding several cassette gens.

! R: s1t02 HSII badly oversaturated, brickwalled to start. Levels come down about 30 seconds in.

! P: s1t02 HSII Jerry's voice sounds a little wrecked.

! R: s1t03 TLEO fades in, a few beats missing

! P: s1t04 Valerie JG flubs the first verse vocals. Nice vocal inflection on "growled at you". Pretty nice guitar solo 4-minutes in. Doesn't completely ignite at first, but then 4:30ff, late 4-min mark, some fuzz and distortion. Good, not great.

! P: s1t05 ISTE is peppy.

! P: s1t07 DP 9-min mark Jerry's playing is very fluid. He's making perfectly symmetrical circles, which, as anyone who has ever tried to hand-draw one can attest, is not easy to do. Very airy and nice. No rush, but not ponderous. Exploratory.

! R: s1t06 TNTDODD levels way way down

! R: s1t06 splices after song, then returns to the start of "Run For the Roses". I can't tell whether this RFTR fragment is actually from in front ot the RFTR in this fileset (s2t03), and it's just a scrap of tape, but I saved it anyway. Who knows that it is.

! s1t07 (1) "We're gonna take a break. We'll be back in a little while." Good sized crowd.

! P: s2t02 Sugaree Jerry's vocals are very expressive. He sounds engaged. Melvin some nice swirls behind the action during the first verse. JG some nice fanning 8-min mark. Again, late 9-min mark, Jerry is giving the vocals his all. Not bad.

! P: s2t03 RFTR starts off a little tentative. I note that the backing vocalists aren't as present with the oohhh-ooohs and "run for the roses!" exclamations, behind the verses, as they would later become. Noting that this is the second show with the ladies, I would suggest that they don't quite have the arrangement fully worked out. The tentative instrumental and vocal start to the song almost seems to reflect this, as if Jerry needs some fill under his feet to really dig in, as the song requires. It'll be interesting to hear when this particular lineup puts the fuller vocal arrangement in. Of course, the musical execution falls apart once in the 3-min mark, as well. Melvin isn't very audible during the verses either. In some, there are some holes in the sound, especially under and around the verses, that need to be filled. Garcia can't carry it vocally, though he doesn't sound bad yet.

! Disclaimer: This is part of a "Closet Call" project aimed at making missing Garcia dates available for study. These are "warts and all" ... straight transfers of the source cassettes with editing only of the most offensive tape transitions and such. If you don't like hiss, possible speed problems, etc., etc., then move along. And, to anticipate a FAQ: no, I don't plan on doing 16/44s of these. Thanks to wk for supplying these tapes!

! URL: http://jgmf.blogspot.com

LN jg1983-01-13.jgb.all.aud-CC.xxxxxx.flac2448

Pretty perfunctory, on my part as a note-taker, as well as on the part of the band. First show of 1983. DeeDee and Jackie's public debut.

Jerry Garcia Band
Keystone
2119 University Avenue
Berkeley, CA 94704
January 13, 1983 (Thursday)
93 min CC aud

--set I (6 tracks, 46:43)--
s1t01. crowd and tuning [0:07]
s1t02. How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) [7:09] [0:06] %
s1t03. Catfish John [11:42] [0:04] % [0:08]
s1t04. That's What Love Will Make You Do [9:35] [0:05] % [0:44]
s1t05. Simple Twist Of Fate [11:57] %
s1t06. /Run For The Roses [4:59] (1) [0:07] %

--set II (5 tracks, 46:48)--
s2t01. The Harder They Come [12:00] [0:07] % [0:06]
s2t02. They Love Each Other [7:55] [0:15]
s2t03. Tangled Up In Blue [9:10] [0:06] % [0:03]
s2t04. Dear Prudence [11:10] ->
s2t05. Midnight //Moonlight// [5:#54#]

! Band: Jerry Garcia Band
! lineup: Jerry Garcia - guitar, vocals;
! lineup: John Kahn - bass;
! lineup: Melvin Seals - keyboards;
! lineup: Jacklyn LaBranch - vocals;
! lineup: DeeDee Dickerson - vocals;
! lineup: Greg Errico - drums.

JGMF:

! Recording: symbols: % = recording discontinuity; / = clipped song; // = cut song; ... = fade in/out; # = truncated timing; [ ] = recorded event time. The recorded event time immediately after the song or item name is an attempt at getting the "real" time of the event. So, a timing of [x:xx] right after a song title is an attempt to say how long the song really was, as represented on this recording.

! Jerrybase: https://jerrybase.com/events/19830113-01

! db: http://etreedb.org/shn/18600 (MSC>?); http://etreedb.org/shn/84227 ("MSC>D"); http://etreedb.org/shn/120925 (MSC>2C, Moore-Berger). There is no aud in digital circulation as of 12/27/2012.

! map: http://goo.gl/maps/z22BN

! historical: the first show of 1983 (1/8/83 was spurious). Nothing particularly noteworthy historically or musically here.

! R: 1st gen aud (Maxell XLII90, Dolby C) > Nakamichi BX-300 playback (Dolby C) > Pyle Pro cables > WaveTerminal 2496 > Samplitude 10.1 Download Version (record @ 24 bits/48kHz) > CDWave 1.9.8 (tracking) > Adobe Audition 3.0 (cross-fades, etc.) > Traders Little Helper 2.4.1 (FLAC encoding, level 8) (flac2448).

! P: s1t02 Jerry is enthusiastic during HSII.

! s1t05 STOF crowd yelling "Yeah John!" "Go for it, John!" during his solo.

! R: s1t06 RFTR clips in, just a beat or two missing.

! s1t06 (1) JG inaudible setbreak announcement.

! P: s2t03 TUIB is perfunctory.

! P: s2t04 Dear Prudence is perfunctory.

! R: s2t05 MM tape flip @ 4:26, cuts out at the "Do you ever feel lonesome" verse.

! disclaimer:  This is part of a "Closet Call" project aimed at making missing Garcia dates available for study. These are "warts and all" ... straight transfers of the source cassettes with editing only of the most offensive tape transitions and such. If you don't like hiss, possible speed problems, etc., etc., then move along. And, to anticipate a FAQ: no, I don't plan on doing 16/44s of these. Thanks to wk for supplying these tapes!

! URL: http://jgmf.blogspot.com

Dealin' on Johnny D's Third Night: JGB, Keystone Palo Alto, October 14, 1979

LN jg1979-10-14.jgb.s1s2p.aud-unk-moore-berger.122979.flac1644

Understood second third show for Ozzie Ahlers and John d'Fonseca. Update: I had this as the second show for this outfit, a week after its 10/7/79 debut, but it turns out they also played the Monday night, 10/8, in Berkeley.

Excellent Sugaree and After Midnight, songs which this band made its own right from the get-go. Good show overall.

Understood public JGB debut of Deal.

Jerry Garcia Band
Keystone Palo Alto
260 South California Avenue
Palo Alto, CA 94306
October 14, 1979 (Sunday)
99 min (all-2, s1s2p) 2nd gen Moore-Berger cassette flac1644 shnid122979

--Set I (6 tracks, 61:00)--
s1t01. [0:05] Sugaree [12:48] [0:10] %
s1t02. [0:10] They Love Each Other [7:19] [0:17] %
s1t03. Let It Rock [8:56] [0:05] % [0:15]
s1t04. Deal [7:00] [0:08] %
s1t05. After // Midnight [11:#06] [0:07] %
s1t06. I'll Take A Melody [12:11] (1) [0:23] %

--set II (4 tracks, 37:57, missing last two songs)--
s2t01. Money Honey [7:14] 0:12] % [0:40]
s2t02. Love In The Afternoon [8:33] [0:26]
s2t03. That's Alright Mama [7:09] [0:23] % [0:03]
s2t04. Russian Lullaby [13:10] [0:07] %
[MISSING: Positively 4th Street]
[MISSING: The Harder They Come]

! ACT1: Jerry Garcia Band #11a (First show-October 7, 1979 Keystone Berkeley | Last show-March 27, 1980 Keystone Berkeley)
! lineup: Jerry Garcia - guitar, vocals;
! lineup: Ozzie Ahlers - keyboards, synthesizers;
! lineup: John d'Fonseca - drums;
! lineup: John Kahn - bass.

JGMF:

! R: symbols: % = recording discontinuity; / = clipped song; // = cut song; ... = fade in/out; # = truncated timing; [m:ss] = recorded event time. The recorded event time immediately after the song or item name is an attempt at getting the "real" time of the event. So, a timing of [m:ss] right after a song title is an attempt to say how long the song really was, as represented on this recording.

! Jerrybase: https://jerrybase.com/events/19791014-01

! db: http://etreedb.org/shn/122979 (this fileset).

! venue: http://jerrygarciasbrokendownpalaces.blogspot.com/2012/11/keystone-sophies-260-s-california-ave.html
 
! map: http://goo.gl/maps/Zx14m

! band: JGB #11a (http://lostlivedead.blogspot.com/2012/01/jerry-garcia-band-personnel-1975-1995.html)

! personnel: understood third public show for Ozzie Ahlers (keyboards) and John d'Fonseca (drums) with the JGB (10/7/79 debut).

! historical: This is the third known performance of the Ozzie Ahlers Era Jerry Garcia Band, the JGB that ran from October 7, 1979 through March 26, 1980 with John d'Fonseca drumming. They did one very lucrative little east coast college and theater tour from February 12, 1980 through March 1, 1980, with a few more hometown gigs after that before Greg Errico comes in for a few lucrative dates out east in July. The birth of the band is rather mysterious. Jerry's last sustained live gigging fling with Merl was in Reconstruction, starting 1/30/79, last known show of 9/22/79, with an advertised show (not mentioning Garcia) for 9/29/79. Little more than a week after that, Garcia and Kahn have formed a new Jerry Garcia Band, a quartet, and are out playing the same clubs. The band debuted on a Sunday night (10/7/79), which is in keeping with Garcia/Kahn's pattern of breaking new guys in on off-nights. update: they played again the next night, an unadvertised Monday night show in Berkeley. A second piece of the pattern isn't in place: they usually kept the new guys away from the Keystone Berkeley (and, later, the Stone) for a few gigs, let 'em loosen up away from the super-knowledgeable regulars. This gig, by contrast, this 10/14/79 gig, a Sunday night in Palo Alto, looks more like  a classic JGB warmup show.

! historical: Jerry wisely invested in Betty Cantor Jackson's services for the last few road shows by this band in late winter 1980, resulting in FM broadcasts of at least two sets. It also means that there are geese laying golden eggs amongst the tour tapes, since they sound so good. There was a 2004 CD release of 2/28/80 (After Midnight: Kean College, 2/28/80, Rhino R2 76536), along with an associated bonus disc (Way After Midnight, JGBWAM-01, 2004) with material from 2/29/80 and 3/1/80. As of 12/24/2012, a release of of the complete 3/1/80 has been pushed back and is said to be forthcoming from 1/1/2013. Update: deaddisc says 2012, but, anyway, the 3/1/80 release happened.

! R: source: master audience cassette (unknown taper/location/gear) > 1st gen cassette > Jerry Moore's 2nd gen cassette (Maxell MX-110/Dolby B).

! R: transfer: Nakamichi Dragon (Dolby B) > Tascam hd-p2 24/96 > pc > Adobe Audition 2.0 > CD Wave > flac1644, transferred and seeded by Rob Berger Nov. 2012.

! R: I only know of one taper of this show, though that tape does not circulate and I don't have it. I know of one other person with access to that tape (presently and presumably "back in the day"), and it's possible that ol' Jerry Moore got a copy of it from that fellow, or via a separate friend of the taper, but I don't know. This could be a second master. It's a good, characteristic Keystone audience tape from late 1979. It's not like the historically good tapes made by John Angus and Scott Hart during this period (11/18/79, 2/1/80, 2/2/80, 3/7/80, 3/26/80), nor by Eldon Porray, Bob Menke, or others. It's got some wear and tear, but it's good.

! R: s1t01 Sugaree badly overloaded at start, comes down around 40 seconds in, still a little hot. What a great tape. Lots of crowd ambience, the room is there, a man (presumably) is standing with mics somewhere up-close. His girlfriend, or his friend's girlfriend, is talking to him @ 1:40, then his friend is, too. The Keystone freaking Palo Alto on an October night in 1979.

! P: s1t01 Sugaree: It's amazing how quickly this band's Sugaree became this band's Sugaree. Totally distinctive. If you like Sugaree, this version is worth checking out, as are many from the next couple of years. @ 3:00 Ozzie little synth run, but Jerry cuts him off for the next verse, "thought you was the cool fool", and all that. Ozzie takes anoher little run like late 4-min early 5-min range. They get together for a bit, then @ 5:30 Garcia is soloing. Build up to 6:40 is mighty mighty. Garcia's soloing in the 9-10 minute range, his fanning at 10:15 and thereabouts, I think really shows that Garcia intended this band to be a showcase for him playing his guitar. 10:46 he's still just blistering. @11:00 we hear that the October 1979 Garcia's voice is a little fragile, a little thin, reedier, less in the diaphragm than, say, 18 months earlier. CATS has flopped. The taxes are still due. Get a band together, play and work, but tear it up a little bit.

! song: Deal (s1t05): This is the understood public JGB debut of Deal. The crowd, appropriately, recognizes the occasion by clapping right along. A little vocal flub in the 2nd verse is OK, Jer. We have heard Deal so many times with a female backing vocalist that it's weird to hear the hole in the song where the harmonies go. Interesting to be attentive to Deal done by a quartet - quite a rarity.

! P: s1t05 AM another one that this particular configuration of Garcia really played hot, and evidently right from the get-go. The crowd is enjoying Jerry's pyrotechnics in the 3-minute mark. Ozzie's solo in 4-minute mark is totally fine. People don't like his sound because of the Fender Rhodes and the synthesizers, but Ozzie can play, IMO. And Jerry is digging in and tearing it up behind him. After Ozzie's solo, ca. 5:20 ish, Jerry wants to cruise around the melody again.

! R: s1t05 AM splice @ 8:59

! s1t06 (1) JG: "Thank you. We're gonna take a [inaudible]."

! P: s2t04 Russian Lullaby bass feature over the 8-minute mark.

! P: set II songs are good, but nothing jumps out at me.

LN jg1978-03-17.jgb.late-1.sbd-bershaw-nolan.123184.flac1644

update 20170710: Here the show doesn't light me up, yet my CC aud listening notes from a month before this post include this:

The show is quite hot, IMO. MITR ends in a manic flurry. Tore Up, my notes tell me, is "ridiculous". Jerry is *really* into this Dixie Down. RIR is absolutely fantastic, with some interesting (if cheesy) vocal work by the ladies over the first guitar break and Jerry going absolutely nuts after 5:45 or so. The scratchy blow-vibe of his voice is the only mitigating factor here.

Different tapes, a month apart, very different inferences about the show.

Bullet points.

1. It's amazing that such a tape should come into the light at this late date. There are more tapes in more closets waiting to be listened to!
2. Does anyone know the status of the video tapes that were said to have been made by John Scher at the Cap?
3. Love the tour, love the setlist, some good moments, but the show doesn't light me up the way it should.

Jerry Garcia Band
Capitol Theatre
326 Monroe Street
Passaic, NJ 07055
March 17, 1978 (Friday) Late Show - 11PM
70 min (all-1) sbd via Bershaw

--late show (7 tracks, 69:52, missing first song)--
--main set (6 tracks, 62:31)--
[MISSING: The Harder They Come]
t01. Mission In The Rain [10:34] [0:26] %
t02. Russian //Lullaby [11:35] [0:29]
t03. Tore Up Over You [8:40] [2:57]
t04. Love In The Afternoon [10:25] [1:39]
t05. I'll Be With Thee [5:12] [0:19]
t06. The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down [10:00] (1) % [0:15]
--encore (1 track, 7:21)--
t07. Rhapsody In Red [7:08] [0:13] %

! ACT1: Jerry Garcia Band
! lineup: Jerry Garcia - el-g, vocals;
! lineup: John Kahn - el-b;
! lineup: Keith Godchaux - piano;
! lineup: Buzz Buchanan - drums;
! lineup: Donna Jean Godchaux - vocals;
! lineup: Maria Muldaur - vocals.

JGMF:

! R: symbols: % = recording discontinuity; / = clipped song; // = cut song; ... = fade in/out; # = truncated timing; [ ] = recorded event time. The recorded event time immediately after the song or item name is an attempt at getting the "real" time of the event. So, a timing of [x:xx] right after a song title is an attempt to say how long the song really was, as represented on this recording.

! Jerrybase: https://jerrybase.com/events/19780317-06

! db: https://etreedb.org/shn/123184 (this fileset); https://etreedb.org/shn/138358 (CC aud).

! venue: http://jerrygarciasbrokendownpalaces.blogspot.com/2011/09/capitol-theater-monroe-st-and-central.html
 
! map: http://goo.gl/maps/nwnV8
 
! R: I noted a CC aud copy of this show just recently, and now a pristine sbd tape emerges. Amazing. And where are the Passaic videos, I wonder?

! R: Source: mono SOUNDBOARD cassette (copied from linear VHS videotape on June 14, 1978).

! R: Lineage: Closed Circuit In House Videotape > linear (mono) VHS Tape > Alan Bershaw's Maxell UDXL2 cassette with Dolby B (playback on Nakamichi Dragon with Dolby B in) > Lexicon Lambda > Logic (track indexing and amplifying levels only) > Wav 16/44.1-> FLAC. Transfer by Rob Nolan on September 7, 2012: Alan's CDR-> Wav 16/44.1 > FLAC.

! R: seeder notes: The only notable flaw on this recording is a glitch at 8:32 into Russian Lullaby, during John Kahn's bass solo with an unknown amount missing.

! R: seeder notes: This is a mono soundboard recording that is very clean considering the lineage. 

! P: t01 MITR reminds me again of the very distinctive vocals from this tour. They are gackshredded, which of course isn't uncommon for ca. 1978. What's really different is Garcia's phrasings. Think about the care early Dylan took with his phrasings ... this Garcia is in that same conceptual space. Partly, first, it's just managing an otolaryngological system that is getting torn to shreds by blow, among other things. (I am not sure what smoking persian would do to one's throat.) But I'd add a second piece: having just come out of the studio, and just made a record that he felt was his finest, I think he is just in an articulate-the-words kind of space. The vocals on Cats Under the Stars are stellar, and beautifully recorded by Betty in the custom-built space at Club Front. Jerry would only learn later, to his profound pain, that the album would be a commercial failure.

! P: t01 MITR there are some nice pyrotechnics here, but for whatever reason this one doesn't kick me in the crotch. I should try to listen again and see how I feel.

! R: t01 fade to splice at end of track

! P: t02 RL Kahn bass solo from about 6:55-9ish

! R: t02 glitch @ 8:32 reported by seeder. I didn't hear it.

! P: t06 TNTDODD time stops at 6:20 while everyone in the band nods off for just a second or two.

! t06 (1) JG: "Thank you. Thank you. See y'all later on." He is really, really hoarse (of course).

! R: t06 I don't hear the splice, but there must be one.

! song: t07 Rhapsody In Red is a special song selection. Listen to Donna Jean and Maria doing their album backing vocals after the 2:30 mark. So clear on this tape. They wouldn't do it very often with this precision, and this is a very good reprsentation of the genre.

! P: t07 Rhapsody In Red: John's run downs at 4:40ff are just ridiculously well-recorded. At 5:30 I want to say "rudimentary, but well-recorded", but then around 5:40 Garcia starts smashing glass with his guitar, up to 6:08. I am supposed to fall over from the fanning he just did, real rock star stuff, but, on this listen, it's doesn't cut me the way smashing glass should.

LN jg1983-05-25.jgb.all-1.aud-CC.xxxxxx.flac2448

Nothin' really jumps out at me.

Jerry Garcia Band
Shea's Theatre
646 Main Street
Buffalo, NY 14202
May 25, 1983 (Wednesday), 8 PM
all-1 85 min CC aud

--Set I (5 tracks, 38:13)--
s1t01. ... How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) [#7:49] [0:34] %
s1t02. They Love Each Other [8:08] [0:24] % [0:18]
s1t03. That's What Love Will Make You Do [8:52] [0:07] %
s1t04. Mississippi// Moon [7:#21] ->
s1t05. Run For The Roses [4:41]

--Set II (5 tracks, 46:43)--
s2t01. crowd [0:05]
s2t02. The Harder They Come [13:06] ->
s2t03. Dear Prudence [12:38] [0:03] %
s2t04. Russian Lullaby// [13:48#]
s2t05. /Tangled Up In Blue// [#7:03#]
[MISSING --encore-- Midnight Moonlight]

! ACT1: Jerry Garcia Band #15c
! Lineup: Jerry Garcia - el-g, vocals;
! Lineup: John Kahn - el-bass;
! Lineup: Melvin Seals - keyboards (Hammond B-3 organ);
! Lineup: Greg Errico - drums;
! Lineup: Jacklyn LaBranch - vocals;
! Lineup: DeeDee Dickerson - vocals.

JGMF:

! Recording: symbols: % = recording discontinuity; / = clipped song; // = cut song; ... = fade in/out; # = truncated timing; [ ] = recorded event time. The recorded event time immediately after the song or item name is an attempt at getting the "real" time of the event. So, a timing of [x:xx] right after a song title is an attempt to say how long the song really was, as represented on this recording.

! Jerrybase: https://jerrybase.com/events/19830525-01

! db: none as of 12/21/2012; https://etreedb.org/shn/130353 (this closet call source); https://etreedb.org/shn/154646 (Closet Call, AF [better] transfer)

! map: http://goo.gl/maps/iuVT7

! venue: http://jerrygarciasbrokendownpalaces.blogspot.com/2012/01/sheas-buffalo-theater-646-main-street.html

! band: JGB #15c (http://lostlivedead.blogspot.com/2012/01/jerry-garcia-band-personnel-1975-1995.html).

! R: 3rd gen aud (Maxell XLII90, no Dolby) > Nakamichi BX-300 playback (no Dolby) > Pyle Pro cables > WaveTerminal 2496 > Samplitude 10.1 Download Version (record @ 24 bits/48kHz) > CDWave 1.9.8 (tracking) > Adobe Audition 3.0 (cross-fades, etc.) > Traders Little Helper 2.4.1 (FLAC encoding, level 8) (flac2448).

! R: This is not a terrible tape, but it's also not surprising that it never made the jump to digital. It's hacked up.

! P: Not sure there's anything noteworthy here, beyond the almost-true segue from HTC to Dear Prudence to start the second set.

! R: s1t01 HSII fades in, very little missing

! R: s1t01 HSII around 7:10 track R channel goes out for the rest of the song. --patch L channel?

! R: s1t01 taper talk after HSII

! R: s1t02 TLEO about 42 seconds in, R channel returns --end patch?

! song: "That's What Love Will Make You Do" (s1t03): It strikes me here how much TWLWYD reminds me of the JGB version of "Get Out Of My Life, Woman". They'd start playing that song July 28, 1984.

! Venue: The ticket stub says "Shea's Theatre" over "Buffalo, New York". Since that's contemporary, I prefer that to Shea's Buffalo Theatre from http://www.sheas.org/. Address is 646 Main Street, Buffalo, NY 14202.

! R: s1t04 Mississippi Moon cut @ ca. 5:12

! R: s2t01 HTC clips in, missing very little, a few beats of the drum intro.

! P: s2t01-s2t02 true segue from HTC to Dear Prudence, very uncommon.

! venue: "Those who take the tour will view the elegant theatre with its elaborate architecture and interior decor as well as its on-going restoration. Designed by architects C.W. and George L. Rapp, this building boasts interior designed by Tiffany Studios featuring a Neo-Spanish Baroque design and is modeled after a European opera house. It originally opened in 1926 as a movie house under the direction of Mr. Michael Shea. Since then, the theatre continues to be maintained and restored to its original grandeur. 'Shea’s is one of the architectural treasures of the region,' said Director of Marketing & Public Relations Lisa Grisanti. “We want our community to learn and experience more about this beautiful structure, its rich history, and its on-going restoration efforts.” The theatre was built by the Rapp Brothers of Chicago and is one of only several theatres still existing that was built by these theatre architects." -- http://www.sheas.org/

! disclaimer:  This is part of a "Closet Call" project aimed at making missing Garcia dates available for study. These are "warts and all" ... straight transfers of the source cassettes with editing only of the most offensive tape transitions and such. If you don't like hiss, possible speed problems, etc., etc., then move along. And, to anticipate a FAQ: no, I don't plan on doing 16/44s of these. Thanks to wk for supplying these tapes!

! URL: http://jgmf.blogspot.com

Second night out for Kemper: The Stone, 7/21/83

Second night out for drummer David Kemper and Gloria Jones. See also "First Night Out for Kemper: The Stone, 7/20/83 (WED)."

This was conventionally considered the second show for vocalist Gloria Jones, but the late '83 Garcia Band tour still featured DeeDeeDickerson, raising doubts about a summer time switchover. It's still possible, but as of now I consider it questionable.

Kemper, of course, was an absolute rock for Garcia for 11 years. So much to say, so little time.
Jerry Garcia Band
The Stone
412 Broadway
San Francisco, CA 94133
July 21, 1983 (Thursday)
84 min CC aud

--set I (6 tracks, 45:36)--
s1t01. //How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) [5:05] [0:07] % [0:02] %
s1t02. /They Love Each Other [7:44] [0:19] % [0:06]
s1t03. Let It Rock [7:13] ->
s1t04. Run For The Roses [4:36] [0:11]
s1t05. Simple Twist Of Fate [12:18] [0:04]
s1t06. Deal [7:46] [0:06] %

--set II (5 tracks, 38:28)--
s2t01. /Cats Under The Stars [6:59] [0:34] % [0:21]
s2t02. Mission In The Rain [8:44] [0:13]  % [0:29]
s2t03. /Love In The Afternoon [7:25] [0:28]
s2t04. Gomorrah [5:47] [0:06]
s2t05. Midnight Moonlight [7:15] [0:08] %

! Band: Jerry Garcia Band
! lineup: Jerry Garcia - el-g, vocals;
! lineup: John Kahn - el-b;
! lineup: Melvin Seals - keyboards;
! lineup: David Kemper - drums;
! lineup: Jacklyn LaBranch - vocals;
! lineup: DeeDee Dickerson - vocals.

JGMF:

! Recording: symbols: % = recording discontinuity; / = clipped song; // = cut song; ... = fade in/out; # = truncated timing; [ ] = recorded event time. The recorded event time immediately after the song or item name is an attempt at getting the "real" time of the event. So, a timing of [x:xx] right after a song title is an attempt to say how long the song really was, as represented on this recording.

! Jerrybase: https://jerrybase.com/events/19830721-01

! db: none as of 12/23/2012.

! venue: http://jerrygarciasbrokendownpalaces.blogspot.com/2012/07/stone-mothers-412-broadway-san.html

! map: http://goo.gl/maps/L0BBt

! historical: This show is of primary historical interest as the second show of a new lineup, and the first of this group to a core audience (San Francisco), albeit on a Thursday night. After nine months Greg Errico leaves the Garcia Band kit for the last time, while the foundational David Kemper newly arrives, where he'd stay almost without interruption through the end of 1993. It had been thought that vocalist Gloria Jones replaced DeeDee Dickerson at these shows, but that turns out to have been incorrect, and DeeDee remained in the fold through 5/20/84.

! R: 4th gen aud (Maxell XLII90, no Dolby) > Nakamichi BX-300 playback (no Dolby) > Pyle Pro cables > WaveTerminal 2496 > Samplitude 10.1 Download Version (record @ 24 bits/48kHz) > CDWave 1.9.8 (tracking) > Adobe Audition 3.0 (cross-fades, etc.) > Traders Little Helper 2.4.1 (FLAC encoding, level 8) (flac2448).

! R: Not a great tape. Wow, flutter, maybe slow (or fast, who can really tell?). Low levels.

! R: s1t01 HSII cuts in, several minutes missing.

! P: s1t03 LIR is quite hot. In the 4-minute mark, Jerry is getting some nice raunch, then a little double-time gallop heading through the 5-minute mark. Some very nice playing here.

! P: s1t04 RFTR starts off kind of a cluster.

! P: s1t05 STOF Jerry is completely lost with the words to start the song. A relatively early instance of just sheer mumbling into the mic. Tries it again at the first verse, I think, "sat together in the park".

! R: this could very well be running fast in set II. Levels are low in set II. Vocals are nice and close in set II.

! R: s2t01 CUTS clips in

! R: s2t01 nice to hear the enthusiastic Stone crowd.

! P: s2t02 MITR Jerry can still pull off the vocals, at least on occasion. His voice is a little thin and reedy, but he is still able to hit these notes without too much pain. At various points, MITR was a real barometer of Garcia's vocal health. The backing vocals are tight, the arrangement seems solid. MITR is good, and the crowd is appreciative.

! R: s2t03 LITA clips in

! P: notice that this show and the night before are pretty short.

! Disclaimer: This is part of a "Closet Call" project aimed at making missing Garcia dates available for study. These are "warts and all" ... straight transfers of the source cassettes with editing only of the most offensive tape transitions and such. If you don't like hiss, possible speed problems, etc., etc., then move along. And, to anticipate a FAQ: no, I don't plan on doing 16/44s of these. Thanks to wk for supplying these tapes!

First Night Out for Kemper: Keystone Palo Alto, 7/20/83 (WED)

LN jg1983-07-20.jgb.all.aud-CC.xxxxxx.flac2448

First night out for drummer David Kemper and Gloria Jones. (See also "Second night out for Kemper: The Stone, 7/21/83".)

This was conventionally considered the first show for vocalist Gloria Jones, but the late '83 Garcia Band tour still featured DeeDeeDickerson, and as of 2020 I am quite sure that DDD was around until 5/20/84, and Gloria came in on 7/28/84.

Kemper, of course, was an absolute rock for Garcia for 10+ years. So much to say, so little time.

Jerry Garcia Band
Keystone Palo Alto
260 South California Avenue
Palo Alto, CA 94306
July 20, 1983 (Wednesday)
83 min CC aud

--set I (6 tracks, 36:33)--
s1t01. crowd and tuning [0:32]
s1t02. Cats Under The Stars [6:47] [0:08] %
s1t03. Catfish John [9:36] [0:14] %  [1:06]
s1t04. That's What Love Will Make You Do [6:04] [0:02] %
s1t05. Mississippi Moon [7:04] ->
s1t06. Run For The Roses [4:40] (1) [0:19] %

--set II (6 tracks, 46:48)--
s2t01. crowd and tuning [0:11]
s2t02. I'll Take A Melody [14:35] [0:07] % [0:03]
s2t03. Love In The Afternoon [8:05] [0:04] %  [0:06]
s2t04. Gomorrah [5:50] [0:05] % [0:07]
s2t05. Dear Prudence [10:50] ->
s2t06. Tangled Up In Blue// [6:44#]

! Band: Jerry Garcia Band #21b
! lineup: Jerry Garcia - el-g, vocals;
! lineup: John Kahn - el-b;
! lineup: Melvin Seals - keyboards;
! lineup: David Kemper - drums;
! lineup: Jacklyn LaBranch - vocals;
! lineup: DeeDee Dickerson - vocals.

JGMF:
! Recording: symbols: % = recording discontinuity; / = clipped song; // = cut song; ... = fade in/out; # = truncated timing; [ ] = recorded event time. The recorded event time immediately after the song or item name is an attempt at getting the "real" time of the event. So, a timing of [x:xx] right after a song title is an attempt to say how long the song really was, as represented on this recording.
! TJS: http://www.thejerrysite.com/shows/show/1710. Note that my set II list doesn't match.

! db: none as of 12/22/2012. Now shnid-137756 via Andrew F.'s correct transfer.

! map: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=260+South+California+Avenue,+Palo+Alto,+CA&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x808fbae5ae350fad:0x6c804e95a91a9587,260+S+California+Ave,+Palo+Alto,+CA+94306&gl=us&ei=OELhTsmSKIX10gG1iNWxBw&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CB0Q8gEwAA

! venue: http://jerrygarciasbrokendownpalaces.blogspot.com/2012/11/keystone-sophies-260-s-california-ave.html

! personnel: David Kemper's understood public debut with the Jerry Garcia Band, replacing Greg Errico. It's not clear how or why the switch was made.

! personnel: Previously understood as Gloria Jones's understood public debut with the Jerry Garcia Band, replacing DeeDee Dickerson, but this seems to be wrong.

! historical: the primary historical interest here lies in the JGB debuts of David Kemper on drums (who would play continuously until early 1994, except October 7, 1985-December 22, 1985, when Gaylord Birch beat the skins) and Gloria Jones on vocals (who would stay with JGB continuously until the end). There are a few hiccups here and there around the drumming and vocals, but overall the group seems reasonably well together. The next night is even better. NB that, as was habitual, Garcia broke in his new players off the beaten path (Palo Alto) and midweek (Wednesday) before unleashing the hometown crowds (SF and Berkeley) on them.

! R: 2nd gen aud (Maxell XLII90, no Dolby) > Nakamichi BX-300 playback (no Dolby) > Pyle Pro cables > WaveTerminal 2496 > Samplitude 10.1 Download Version (record @ 24 bits/48kHz) > CDWave 1.9.8 (tracking) > Adobe Audition 3.0 (cross-fades, etc.) > Traders Little Helper 2.4.1 (FLAC encoding, level 8) (flac2448).

! setlist: TJS set II goes MITR, LITA, DP > TUIB. The basis of the setlist is not clear --it's just an old "ftp.gdead.berkeley.edu" reference-- and that's too short. The setlist here seems more plausible.

! R: may run fast

! R: s1t01 CUTS muffling first minute of CUTS

! song: Cats Under The Stars (s1t01): took a hiatus 3/22/78. TJS says it came back http://www.thejerrysite.com/songs/show/897 1/8/83 at The Stone, for which there is no known tape. Then JGB plays it six times in three nights out east (June 3-5, 1983, early and late shows), then this version. It definitely sounds a little raw.

! P: s1t01 CUTS I said it sounds a little raw, which is true. But it's also hot as hell.

! R: s1t02 CJ is brickwalled with significant distortion. This is fatiguing to listen to.

! P: s1t02 CJ 7-minutes in Jerry and Melvin do some nice call and response.

! P: s1t04 TWLWMYD has some some nice bursts of honey guitar playing right at the start.

! P: Garcia's voice is definitely on the downhill slide to Elmer Fuddsville. It's not there quite yet, but it's losing diaphragm and gaining scratchy sinus and throat - not a good tradeoff.

! R: s1t05 MM missing first few notes, badly oversaturated

! R: s1t06 RFTR anomaly right at track transition, but it was on the source tape.

! s1t06 (1) JG, breathless and rushed: "Thanks a lot. We're gonna take a break for a little while and we'll be back in a few minutes."

! P: a good solid show.

! Disclaimer: This is part of a "Closet Call" project aimed at making missing Garcia dates available for study. These are "warts and all" ... straight transfers of the source cassettes with editing only of the most offensive tape transitions and such. If you don't like hiss, possible speed problems, etc., etc., then move along. And, to anticipate a FAQ: no, I don't plan on doing 16/44s of these. Thanks to wk for supplying these tapes!

GAMB: July 7, 1974, CXL'D?

So, these showed up on ebay a few months back.

Poster advertising a "Freak Fair" from July 4-7, 1974 at Shorebird Park on the Berkeley Marina. The red-and-white line drawn poster features illustrations of a native American, a hot air balloon "Enterprise", a geodesic dome, and mintrally-inspired freaks dancing. Listed attractions include jugglers, belly dancers, theatre, fireworks, clowns, body painting, minstals [sic], mime & magic, natural energy displays, craft booths, natural foods, an alternative lifestyle forum, native American village, geodesic dome. General public $2.50 donation.

The "Great American Music Band with Richard Greene & Jerry Garcia" is advertised for Sunday, July 7, but the second line, with Greene and Garcia's name, is blotted out in red, while the band name is not.

Why do I care? As of 12/10/2012, this is the latest known mention of  any connection between Garcia and GAMB/GASB. There were certainly shows around June 12-14, 1974, and then that's it. The next known GAMB listing I have --after Garcia's "departure", insofar as he was ever a "member" of the "band" at all during its infancy-- comes on November 7, 1974, with a gig at the Keystone, Berkeley. This is the first dedicated "Dawg Music" band which would briefly include both Grisman and Richard Greene before morphing into the first David Grisman Quintet (DGQ).

So, I find both the late date and the crossing out of the Richard Greene and Jerry Garcia feature to be illuminating. What we might have here, in short, is a rather precise window --between the printing of the poster and whenever someone took the time to cross out those names-- within which Garcia's involvement in the GAMB/GASB went from "in" to "out". Empirical evidence of a pivot point, in short. Neat.

I also wonder if GAMB did, in fact, play, as Grisman and others. But the evidence is ambiguous, since the band name is not crossed out, just the featured players.

Oh yeah, and there's a relatively early Good Old Boys gig on the bill, same day as GAMB.

Anyway, pictures and such.